I Was Supposed to Be Giving Love Advice on the School Radio, but Before I Knew It, the Beautiful Girls at School Were Hitting on Me
After school, we were sitting across from each other at a family restaurant a short distance from school.
While I sipped my coffee, the small animal-like girl sitting across from me–Kinami san–sipped down her orange juice through a straw.
She had been very unhappy when she came here before, but now that this was our second meeting, we had lost the tension that we had felt for each other.
“Let’s get started, shall we? Let’s start today’s round.”
“Sure.”
Kinami san responded to my voice by quickly taking her mouth off the straw.
We originally met through radio, and since our goals were somewhat similar at first, we often disagreed with each other.
……We are both veterans of his radio show. She says she has no one with whom she can express her opinions about her favorite content, while I have a few.
As we met each other more and more often in this way, we found ourselves in the habit of getting together at this family restaurant on days when Kageyama kun’s radio show was on, without either of us having to contact the other.
“Today’s free talk by Senpai was on a roll, wasn’t it?”
Kinami san was the first to broach the subject.
“Yeah, I don’t know if it was because this was the last broadcast of the semester, but he was very enthusiastic.”
“I personally found that story about the tropical night to be quite powerful.”
Kinami san said, nodding slightly.
“Now that I know, I feel like my body is getting hotter.”
“I get it, it’s just an assumption, but when you say it again, it makes me curious.”
After agreeing with her words, I took a sip of coffee and exhaled.
“It really is hot.”
“……What was that?”
“…..Never mind.”
My best joke was ignored and I took another sip of coffee.
So this is the generation gap…..
The silence that comes again, usually a little more lively, but this time it is somehow awkward for both of us.
“Ah, so this is the end of the semester…..”
It was her again who broke the silence. She gave a big stretch.
“If I can’t listen to the radio for a month…that’s pretty unbearable.”
“Yes, how can I put it? It’s almost like that feeling you get when you finish the first season of your favorite anime and you’re waiting for the next season.”
“Yes, it’s like that feeling you get when the first volume of a set of two books is released first.”
Each of us said what we thought was easy to convey, and I groaned.
“I’ll probably be hanging out with Kageyama kun during summer vacation, so I won’t miss hearing his voice.”
She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, her eyebrows twitching.
“Well, that’s true. Both me and Senpai will be working part-time jobs this summer. Senpai was even saying that he was gonna take on extra shifts during the summer vacation, so it might not be a bad idea.”
She finished her sentence in one breath and took another sip of orange juice. I put my cup down as well.
“Well, I guess so. Kinami san meets him for work, and I meet him for fun.”
I told her the truth and she slowly took her mouth off the straw.
“……Senpai, are you trying to stir things up?”
“I don’t think so. I have no reason to provoke you, since your only relationship with me is professional.”
“You’re probably teasing me, aren’t you !?”
As she tries to lean forward from the desk, I gently stop her.
At first she glared at me uncomfortably, then she sat back in her chair and snorted with laughter.
“Well, even if it’s just a professional relationship, it’s still fine compared to the kind of person you can’t talk to if you change seats.”
“……Eh?”
Kinami san spread her hands wide.
“Isn’t that so? When you two get separated in the second semester, will you be able to go and talk to him, Kitahara senpai? It’s impossible for a socially awkward person like you, right?”
She looks up at me with clear hostility, but I respond with a big smile.
“Oh my, you’ve gotten quite the big talker in just a week. Haven’t you heard what I wrote this week? We went out together the other day. Do you know what it means?”
She took a sip of her juice and gave me a big smile in response to my rebuttal.
“But I thought you said that you couldn’t get over being friends after all. It’s no use trying to make a good point out of it.”
“Oh, you don’t seem to realize that we’ve gotten off topic? I’m close enough with him that I go out with him. There’s no point saying that now.”
“Gnnn……”
Unable to offer a counter argument, she picked up the glass with a frustrated look on her face and drank the juice in one gulp.
I also decided that now was the time to attack, so I didn’t let up on my pursuit.
“By the way, when we went out together, I even held hands.”
I declared.
“……”
She, on the other hand, stared at me with a stunned expression. She seemed to be at a loss for words.
“Can I ask you one question…..?”
However, Kinami san’s words, as she asked me softly, did not seem to be overwhelming. I felt a little uncomfortable, but urged her to continue.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Well, it pains me to ask this, but…..”
“Why is that?”
Kinami san gave a small nod.
“Umm, well, Kitahara senpai, you went out with Kageyama senpai just as friends, right?”
“That’s right. That’s what I’ve been saying for a while now.”
“But, in going out with Kageyama senpai as a friend, you held hands with all your might.”
“Yeah……?”
“You two are not in a relationship, but you even held each other’s hands.”
“What are you……”
I gently restrain her, but she shows no signs of stopping.
“In short, on your first time going out together as friends, you got carried away and even ended up holding hands with him….”
“Wait a minute !”
A terrible feeling ran down my spine. Despite my desperate attempts to stop her, this junior sitting in front of me, leaned back comfortably on the sofa with a tense look on her face.
“…..Pervert.”
“I’m not !”
I stood up, tapping the desk with a reflexive bang. All eyes around me turned to me at once, and I hurriedly took my seat. But I can’t stop the rush.
“I-I just did it because that was the atmosphere, it’s not like I had any evil intentions or anything…”
“You have so many excuses.”
“Shut up !”
Kinami san sips her juice with a dumbfounded look on her face and stares at me with half-closed eyes.
“So that’s why, Senpai, isn’t it normal to hold hands after the second or third date? And linking arms on the first date…I bet you’re the type of person who says it’s a date or whatever on the first meeting.”
“Ugh……”
“I can’t leave that radio freak in the hands of someone like Kitahara senpai who has such ulterior motives in her mind.”
What is this girl, she talks as if she had been watching, is she an esper or something?
But I’m someone who will back down after being told something like this.
“……Kiss.”
“Eh?”
“Indirect kiss !”
“……!?”
I guess she had an idea of what I was talking about, because she seemed completely taken aback by my words.
“You seem like you’re being very arrogant, but weren’t you also excited about having an indirect kiss?”
“W-wha…..”
Kinami-san was shaking with her mouth trembling. I didn’t let up on my pursuit either.
“You may think you’re acting like a spoiled junior who can see the situation and takes a step back, but in reality, you have ulterior motives !”
“I-I’m not a spoiled junior ! And it all started with Senpai !”
“Even if that’s true, the fact that you posted it so happily on the radio is……”
“So what if I had a little fun !”
This time it was her turn to slam the desk. She stood up and glared at me, her eyes clearly showing signs of agitation.
Ah, here we are.
Although we gathered as fans of Kageyama kun’s radio show, there is still a battle between fans. The more we refuse to compromise, the more naturally this happens…
I mean, even with all this, I still want to become friends with her, you know? There’s no one I can talk to like this with, so…
“Whatever, an indirect kiss is a big deal for a kid who was a middle schooler until last year～”
“Don’t treat me like a child ! You don’t even have any friends !”
However, the words that come out of her mouth are always confrontational… It’s something I’d like her to improve somehow…
Oh, someone please break the situation. I sighed softly, and Kinami-san raised one eyebrow.
“Hey, what are you sighing for !”
“Both of you, calm down.”
[ [!?] ]
We thought the atmosphere was about to turn explosive, but then we noticed that there was a third person between us.
We reflexively turned our heads in that direction. Just in front of the table, on the aisle side, stood a woman.
Her hair was slightly wavy and she had an air of composure about her. All eyes were focused on us, and not just because we were arguing.
She has a charisma that can completely capture the attention of those around her with a single word. There is no one else like her.
“President Saionji……”
Kinami san murmured quietly. The president smiled softly when she saw her reaction.
“You seem to be having quite a pleasant conversation, don’t you?”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry ! We made a lot of noise in the store……”
Perhaps feeling that she had been reprimanded, Kinami san shrank and bowed profusely apologizing.
“Come on, Kitahar -senpai, please apologize properly !”
“……”
“Hey, Kitahara senpai?”
Kinami san gently shook my body, but for a reason completely different from her, I was unable to speak.
No, the reason the student council president called out to us wasn’t because we were making too much noise. I don’t know why.
But I had seen this figure somewhere. Her spare smile gave me a strong sense of déjà vu.
“Please don’t stare at me so much. You’re having a rather interesting conversation and I was wondering if I could join in.”
“Join in……?”
“Oh, no, it’s not really an interesting story for the president to hear.”
I couldn’t stop looking puzzled, and Kinami san was still waving her hands in a panic. Looking at our contrasting faces, she laughed again. Then, with an elegant demeanor that was hard to believe in a family restaurant, she placed her hands on her chest.
“—Nice to meet you, Deltora Forest san and Matcha Powder san. I’m Kombu Wakame.”
Kinami san was so surprised that she could not speak.
Ah, that is the same reaction as when I spoke to Kinami san…
My brain was rapidly replaying today’s radio in reverse as I chewed on the reason for the intense sense of deja vu I now had for her.
Leaving us alone, she sat down on the sofa with only the most elegant gestures.
“I have a favor to ask you guys, will you make a deal with me?”
Maitoshi